What to Expect When You’re Delivering? How the Gender Structure is Reinforced Through Fictional Depictions of Childbirth

Because the overwhelming majority of births in the United States (U.S.) occur in hospitals and other medical settings rather than at home, the only births many U.S. women see before giving birth themselves are those shown in media, such as films and television series. Using thematic analysis of 111 media pieces consisting of fictional films and television show episodes that feature childbirth and were released in the U.S. from 1988 to 2023, we investigate what these depictions communicate about women during childbirth and whether these portrayals have changed over time. Overall, we find that the depictions in these movies and television show episodes rely on institutionalized medicine, emotionally intense labor and deliveries, objectification of women, and gendered behaviors during childbirth. These depictions have changed little over the time period we examined and convey the strong preservation of the gender structure.